Centralisers are widely used within the hydrocarbon extraction industry to centraliser a tubular within a wellbore. It may be necessary to centralise a tubular to allow the passage of services, such as hydraulic lines or electrical cables, in the annulus between the tubular and the wellbore, or to ensure that cement flows around the entire perimeter of the tubular during a cementing operation in which cement is pumped into the annulus.
Several types of centraliser, such as bow spring centralisers, are known. However, conventional centralisers tend to have limited load bearing capacity and, for example, in a deviated well where the tubular may lie at an angle to the vertical, to centralise the tubular, the centraliser has to bear some of the weight of the tubular. If the centraliser does not centralise a tubular effectively in this situation then, for example in a cementing operation, the cement may not be able to flow fully around and encase the tubular.